Fear
by anim8or
Summary: Even though Kasamatsu has graduated and moved on to University, Kise is determined to keep in touch and maintain their friendship. But a fateful decision on a good night out gone bad throws them both into a situation that has them fighting for their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Kise Ryota was a very persistent young man, particularly when it came to getting something he wanted. And it seemed that his current fixation was getting Kasamatsu Yukio to go places with him.

The former captain of Kaijo had graduated several months ago, and since he'd gone off to University, he'd done a pretty good job of keeping in touch with his friends from high school. He'd gone out to eat with them several times, and more often than not responded to Kise's texts when he got back to his dorm, even if he was exhausted. His schedule was pretty tight, so he didn't get a lot of free time. Still, he tried his best.

Clearly, Kasamatsu's best was not enough for Kise. The blond, now in his second year of high school, had practically demanded over a three-minute-long phone conversation that Kasamatsu drop whatever he was doing that night and take the thirty-minute trip to a little restaurant near Kaijo High. He claimed it was really good, and that Kasamatsu would love it and appreciate the time off.

Of course, the idiot wouldn't listen to reason and understand that it was a Tuesday night and they both had early mornings to look forward to. He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

And so, that was how Kasamatsu ended up on a bus, heading over to the district that housed Kaijo.

It felt a bit weird to be taking this route to the school he'd gone to for three years of his life. Memories unwillingly forced themselves into his mind as he stared out the window and watched the scenery pass by. Images of basketballs, fans in the stadiums, and high black socks filled his vision, and he couldn't help but smile. He missed it - basketball. He missed the thrill it gave him as the audience cheered, missed the elation he felt when he made an amazing shot. But most of all, he missed commanding his team. Or, actually, it was more like he missed his team in general. It was a constant, dull ache in his chest, reminding him of the life he'd been forced to leave behind. He missed Hayakawa's excited screams and shouts, Moriyama's flirtatiousness and stupid pickup lines, Kobori's strength and support, Kise's bright laughs and determination.

Another grin crept its way onto his face at the thought of the golden boy. While he was annoying from time to time - or, almost every second of every moment Kasamatsu was around him - he was like his little brother. Yeah, he would say that that was a good description of what Kise was to him. Someone who got on his nerves, talked to him too much, who he lost his temper with more often than not... but who was still a precious, irreplaceable person that Kasamatsu would give his life for.

Not that he'd admit it out loud, though. He hoped that Kise had a sort of sixth sense and understood that when Kasamatsu called him an 'idiot,' that it was an endearing term; that when he punched him or kicked him, that it was meant affectionately...

Okay, maybe not _always._ But he made a point of treating Kise differently than the others. Once he'd found that the model had an innate ability to get on his nerves far more than everyone else on his team, Kasamatsu knew that Kise was going to hold a special place in his heart. After all, Kasamatsu had two little brothers of his own. He knew what it felt like when a little brother was being annoying, and being around Kise felt nearly exactly like being with one of his baby brothers. And he loved them more than anything.

So, yes, Kise was a very important part of Kasamatsu's life now. Hence the fact that he had done his homework at an alarming rate of speed just so that he could get to the restaurant and appease the blond's unnecessary demands.

The bus got to Kasamatsu's stop sooner than the former captain had expected, but he wasn't going to complain. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go home and get some much-needed sleep.

Kasamatsu hopped off the bus and shoved his hands into the pockets of his University jacket. While it was only early fall, it was quite chilly. Besides, he just liked flaunting the name of his school. It felt almost like being able to sport one of Kaijo's royal blue basketball uniforms again, and it filled him with a sense of pride. Of course, the University's jacket was navy blue, and had gray writing on it. It wasn't the same proud, enjoyable color as Kaijo had given him to wear, but he supposed that he was just being biased. Nothing would ever be as good as Kaijo for him.

The jog to the restaurant was a short one, and took only a few minutes. Soon, Kasamatsu reached the place, and when he opened the door, he was assaulted by the rich scent of... was it Mexican food? He wasn't sure, but it smelled so good, and the restaurant was pretty fancy. He hoped he'd brought enough money.

"Do you have a reservation?" asked the short, brunette woman at the counter before him. She was smiling, and very pretty, and Kasamatsu felt the heat rise up to his face.

It was a little-known fact, but Kasamatsu Yukio was not good at talking to women. Any women. He would stutter and blush and get embarrassingly awkward, and he didn't even know why. So, he'd never been more thankful to hear the bright - albeit annoying - voice sound behind him, and ultimately save him from a terrible situation.

"He's my date for the night!" Kise was standing behind him - he'd obviously just gotten there, his jacket pulled tight around him to keep the autumn chill away. He was also wearing ridiculously dark sunglasses and ball cap, most likely as a disguise. The blond was smiling a bit as he bumped his shoulder against his former captain's. "I reserved a table for two last week, remember? It should be under the name Kasamatsu Ryota."

Kasamatsu would've kicked him, had they not been in such a nice restaurant. Instead, he just growled harshly, "It's not a date, idiot!" He was positive his face was as red as a tomato. Not only had he nearly had to talk to such an attractive young woman, but now she probably thought he was gay.

Freaking fantastic.

Kise laughed softly as the woman picked up a couple of menus and ushered them over to a booth table in a corner, probably to keep prying eyes away. Kise sat with his back to the rest of the people in the room, and Kasamatsu took a seat on the other side.

The model smiled happily, his golden eyes bright as he took off his sunglasses. "Thanks for coming out tonight, senpai," he chirped, leaning his elbows on the table and not making any move to pick up his menu. "I hope you don't mind the name I used. If I had said 'Table for Kise Ryota,' it probably would've caused a bit of a commotion." That was an understatement. The young blond's popularity in the modeling industry had shot up recently - people everywhere were recognizing him and flocking to him. Kasamasu had no doubt in his mind that there would have been a hoard of fans around them if Kise had reserved a table under his own name. An alias was necessary.

Kasamatsu just huffed and picked up a menu, looking over the options. As expected, everything was expensive, and he couldn't help but make a face. Fifteen dollars seemed to be about the minimum price on most of the meals, apart from things that sounded disgusting or the tiny items. He reminded himself to bring more than ten dollars next time, but living expenses were practically devouring any and all money he managed to scrounge up.

"Oh, get whatever you want, senpai! My treat," Kise assured him with one of the most welcoming grins Kasamatsu had ever seen. "I come here all the time. I recommend the number eight dinner - the one with the steak fajitas that comes with soup and rice on the side. It's to die for."

Kasamatsu's eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter, but he knew the sharp-eyed small forward would notice. "No, Kise, you don't have to do that. I'll get my own," he said, quick to decline the offer. He didn't want to take advantage of his former teammate just because he had money. Besides, what good senpai let their juniors pay for their food?

Kise tilted his head to the side and knitted his eyebrows together. "But senpai, what kind of date would I be if I didn't buy your dinner?"

"We're not on a date!" Kasamatsu snapped, clenching his fists and sending the younger boy a glare. "That's disgusting, Kise. I don't even know how you got that idea in your head!"

The blond looked only a tiny bit surprised at the outburst, before he laughed softly and shook his head. "I know it's not a date, senpai! Not a real one," he went on, opening his menu and scanning the contents over. "It's more like I just wanted to do something nice for you. Can't I do that?" His yellow eyes peeked up from the menu to meet Kasamatsu's steel blue ones. "It would make me very happy to pay for everything tonight, okay?"

Taking a small, steadying breath, Kasamatsu sighed. "Fine. I guess one time won't hurt. But I'm paying next time! You got that?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes sharply to make sure the model understood how serious he was being.

"Then we're going to Maji Burger next!" Kise exclaimed joyously, before immediately changing the subject. "Have you decided what you want to eat?"

Kasamatsu shot him a glare, but he had absolutely no energy left to argue with the blond. He'd make sure the next place they went to was somewhere nice, regardless of what Kise said. "Um, I'll just have whatever you're getting, if that's okay," he responded, leaning against the booth behind him and crossing his arms.

"Great!" Kise really did look happy, and Kasamatsu found that it was contagious, for he couldn't stop the small smile that sprung up onto his own face as well. The model waved down the waitress and ordered two number eights, and then rested his elbows on the table. "So, senpai. How's everything been going at University?" he questioned, glancing down at his former captain's jacket.

Kasamatsu could've sworn there was a flash of sadness in the younger boy's eyes, but he chose to ignore it for now. "It's been all right. Could be better, but I guess that means it could be worse, too. I still don't know anyone there yet," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

Kise looked surprise. "Really? But you were good at making friends in Kaijo, weren't you?" he questioned, sympathy written all over his face. Kasamatsu knew it was probably stupid - he'd been there for months, but had only spoken to a few other students conversationally.

"You only knew me in my third year," he pointed out with a chuckle. "And I only got to know the people I did because I was on the basketball team and had to speak to coordinate with them. I didn't have any friends apart from the people on my team." It was true. His only real friends in his last year had been Moriyama, Kobori, Hayakawa, Nakamura, and Kise. Yes, he knew a couple of the other first-years, but they hadn't bonded or anything. Not like he had with the others.

Kise shook his head vigorously, squeezing his eyes shut tight. "I can't believe that, senpai! You're amazing. You probably have lots of friends." He sounded so sure of himself...

The black-haired young man took a deep breath and released it in a sigh. "It won't do you any good to flatter me, idiot," he muttered, looking off to the right and surveying the people of the restaurant to try and take his mind off the conversation at hand.

"No, no. I wasn't flattering you! You're smart, a great player, and I've never seen you be afraid of anything," the boy rambled, then looked thoughtful. "Well, that can't be right, though. Everyone's scared of something, right? You can't be completely fearless, because no one is. Even Akashi's scared of stuff... probably."

"I'm not really scared of anything specific," Kasamatsu mumbled as he took a sip of the water the waitress had brought. "I mean, I'm probably scared of stuff. I just haven't been in a situation that scared me yet."

Kise blinked and tipped his head slightly. "That can't be right. I mean, I ran into this giant spider just this morning in the bathroom and almost had a heart attack. You can't possibly not have had a moment like that before, right?" he asked genuinely. It didn't seem like he was looking for an excuse to tease his senpai at all.

"Of course, but I don't think that's actual fear. Maybe a petty one. I think real fear is more like..." Kasamatsu never got the chance to finish his sentence. For in that moment, a loud, trilling noise sounded, and one of the waiters ran out of the kitchen. He was sweating profusely, his blue-and-gray outfit soaked at the neckline and armpits, and a sheen of wetness over whatever skin was visible.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" The man's loud voice wavered a bit. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I advise you all not to panic, but there is a fire in the kitchen. Everyone must leave the building in a calm, orderly, single-file line, through the back exit."

The back exit? Did that mean that the fire was nearer to the front of the building? Kasamatsu looked over at Kise, whose golden eyes were round in what could've been surprise or mild fear. "We should go," the older boy informed him, getting to his feet. Kise followed suit, and they headed toward the back doors, where everyone else in the building was gathered and panicking.

Kasamatsu decided to play it calm and cool, as usual, and waited for everyone else to get through first. He thought he heard something, and glanced to his left, through one of the kitchen doors. He felt his eyes widen ever so slightly at the sight of the flames licking up the walls inside. It looked like no one was in there, so why did he hear...

The noise came again, this time a bit more clearly.

"Help me! Help!"

Was someone... trapped in there? Kasamatsu didn't give himself time to think before rushing over to the kitchen door and slinging it open.

The heat was almost immediately unbearable. The nineteen-year-old flinched back from the inferno, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. How had the staff let it get that bad without getting everyone else out? It didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Kasamatsu felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped, turning to look behind him. Kise was standing there, his eyes squinted against the heat, and even though Kasamatsu had jumped, his hand remained firmly on his former captain's shoulder. He didn't look scared at all, but instead wore an expression of confusion. Kasamatsu didn't blame him. The younger boy probably thought he'd gone insane.

"Senpai, where are you going? There's a fire!"

The raven-haired young man wanted to hit him. "Thank you for the information. I didn't know that," he snapped sarcastically, shaking his junior's hand off. "I heard someone in here. I'll be right back. Don't follow me, or I'll hit you harder than I've ever hit you before!" He didn't give the model a chance to respond before racing into the room and shutting the door decisively.

The cries for help were louder inside. Kasamatsu weaved around flaming appliances and cabinets, and located the source rather quickly. There was a young man - probably a bit younger than Kasamatsu himself - trapped underneath a fallen rack of pots and pans, his leg pinned behind him. The flames hadn't reached him yet, but it was only a matter of time before they did, so Kasamatsu hurried to try and lift the rack.

"Thank you, thank you! I didn't think anyone would come!" panted the younger guy as he peeked up at his rescuer. He didn't really look that scared at all, which struck Kasamatsu as a bit odd, but he didn't think much of it at the time. He couldn't - the blaze was too strong, it was too hot, and the situation was too urgent to sweat the small stuff.

Kasamatsu struggled with the fallen rack for what felt like forever before its weight lightened tremendously. He glanced over to his right to see that Kise had, despite his warnings, run in after him and had his hands on the other side of the heavy shelf. Kasamatsu wanted to throttle him. However, it was much easier to lift the metal object with the blond's help, and soon the young man was able to crawl out to relative safety.

"Kise!" Kasamatsu snapped immediately, clenching his hands into fists. There was no time to lecture him, so instead he continued, "We need to get out of here, now! It's dangerous!"

The pale-faced model nodded without arguing and turned to head back the way he'd come, and Kasamatsu looked over to the young man they'd helped out. "You, too. Let's go."

The wicked smile that crossed the other guy's face was incredibly confusing, and it made Kasamatsu want to take a step back. The longing to get away spiked when the boy spoke, "Thank you for the help, _Yukio_. It's a shame, really. It probably would've been in yours and Ryota's best interests to have left me to die."

Kasamatsu froze on the spot, trying to make sense of what he'd said, but with the inferno roaring around him, the pressing heat and his burning lungs, he couldn't manage it. He licked his dry lips and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a certain blond idiot, who didn't know how to follow orders.

"Senpai!" Kise called, bolting around the corner. His gold eyes reflected the growing flames around them. "What's taking you so long? I-"

A loud explosion cut off the second-year's sentence, and a wall of fire hid him from view. It took a moment or two for Kasamatsu's muddled mind to come up with the conclusion that the gas stove to Kise's right had blown up, and another moment for the ringing in his ears to subside to the point that he could hear the blond boy screaming. In the same instant that he took a step forward toward the noise, a hand gripped his arm and something of clothlike material was placed over his mouth and nose.

Panic swelled automatically in his chest, and he tried to struggle, but he found that his body wouldn't move the way he wanted. Instead, he slumped backward, against someone's chest, and heard his assailant chuckle before murmuring in his ear, "You're really going to regret saving my life."

The last things that Kasamatsu could remember were the sound of Kise crying in pain and the sight of a dark shadow blocking out the light of the flames overhead.

And then, everything went pitch black.

* * *

 **Hi! I don't know if you've read any of my stories before, but I'm really on a KiKasa brotp fix right now, so I'm going to be writing a bunch of fics about them. This is my latest, and it will be multichapter. I have no idea how long it's going to be, so please bear with me. We can get through this together!**

 **Also, I'm sorry about the cliffhanger. Things will make much more sense in the next chapter, I hope.**

 **So, um, if you liked it, reviews are incredibly appreciated! Actually, they don't even have to be good ones. Any reviews are helpful, if you wanted to tell me what you thought so far. c:**

 **Fave/follow/ask questions/critique/pm me - I don't bite!**

 **A bit of a warning for this fic: It's gonna have darker themes in it. Violence, mostly, and abusive behavior. There may be alcohol use, as well. There won't be any yaoi or romance in this at all. Their relationship is platonic.**

 **Anyway, God bless all of you, and I hope you have a great day!**

 **anim8or**


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Kasamatsu was aware of when he regained some of his consciousness was the sensation of a bumpy car ride, and his unsteady stomach. While he didn't think he was going to throw up or anything like that, he knew that he wasn't feeling his best.

He decided to look around and try and figure out where he was before doing anything else. It was a pain to open his eyes, but he managed, and his gaze flickered around his surroundings.

Kasamatsu knew that he wasn't in a stationary place, judging from the fact that he could hear an engine running somewhere, as well as feel every turn and bump in the road. He guessed he was in the back of a big truck or something along those lines. A sense of dread rose in his chest upon the realization that he could be anywhere in Japan by now. Heck, he could be anywhere in the world, for all he knew. He had no idea how long he'd been out, and couldn't find his phone or watch anywhere on his person.

He couldn't bite back a groan when he recalled his last few seconds of awakenness, back at the restaurant, and the fire and the guy that he and Kise had helped. He couldn't believe that had actually happened, but the aching in his muscles and pain in his head and lungs told him otherwise.

Kasamatsu had to accept it as a fact. He'd been... abducted. Kidnapped. Taken. He'd thought that it could never happen to him - he was too strong, too big, too able-bodied to be taken by force.

But whoever had abducted him had planned it out well. Kasamatsu wasn't sure if the fire had occurred on accident, or if the person who'd put that cloth over his face had caused it, but that guy had certainly taken full advantage of the chaos.

Not to mention that it was obvious that he'd known who Kasamatsu was. Recalling what the guy had said caused chills to run down the raven-haired basketball player's spine.

 _"Thank you for the help,_ Yukio _. It's a shame, really. It probably would've been in yours and Ryota's best interests to have left me to die."_

Ryota.

 _Kise._

Kasamatsu's body reacted to the thought far faster than he ever thought possible. In a flash, he was sitting up and jerking his head from side to side in search of the model. The movement, however, proved to be a bad idea, for his vision quickly grew black and his head started pounding.

Squeezing his eyes shut to fend off the pain, Kasamatsu tried for his voice. It was hoarse, quiet, and rather squeaky, but he managed to get out a scratchy - yet demading, "Kise, where are you?"

A shaky little whimper to his right was all he got in response, but it was enough. Kasamatsu's eyelids flew open once more and the blackness faded slowly. He turned his head to the side and saw a small outline of a silhouette in the darkness, and upon closer inspection could pick out the blondness of Kise's hair.

It took a try or two, but Kasamatsu managed somehow to get on his hands and knees and crawl toward the prone form of the model and, without thinking, reached out to help him sit up.

Kise let out a pained cry when the older boy gripped his shoulder, and Kasamatsu saw tears spring into his golden eyes. He cringed and gingerly moved his hands away from the place Kise was hurting, and could make out from the big white blisters across the model's exposed shoulder, that he was burned. It was clear that it was bad, even though Kasamatsu couldn't see the full extent of the damage. Unsure of what to do, he instead laced his fingers through the younger boy's dirty blond tresses, hoping to soothe him. The poor boy was burning up with fever.

The petting appeared to help, at least a little, because Kise's eyelids shut and the tears leaked down his cheeks. His breath hitched in his throat in a sob, and Kasamatsu heard him hiccup and whine, "Senpai..."

"I know," he replied gently, leaning forward and peering at the wound to try and see how far down it went, how deep it was. He didn't think it was bad enough to be life-threatening, but he needed to know if it was infected. Not that there was anything he could do to help it if it was.

He took a deep breath and settled himself down beside the blond, reaching one arm out to pillow the younger's head and make him just a bit more comfortable. "Go to sleep, Kise," he whispered, and the boy shook his head quickly.

"C-can't - I'm scared," came the trembling response, and Kasamatsu saw the model's golden eyes open just enough to meet his own steel blue ones. "Everything hurts, senpai."

Kasamatsu sighed softly and nodded, but before he could speak, the doors to the back of the truck opened and harsh sunlight suddenly streamed in. Defensively, Kasamatsu turned to face the entrance and got on his hands and knees once more, leaning over Kise to protect him from whoever might come in. There was no way on earth he was going to let the two of them get separated.

The figure that stepped inside wasn't familiar, but it was undeniably male, in his teens, with dark brown hair. Perhaps around Kasamatsu's own height.

The young man walked in and stopped right in front of Kise and Kasamatsu, and stared down at them. Kasamatsu gritted his teeth, although he didn't know if he was able to actually stand and defend the both of them. At any rate, he had a voice, and he was determined to use it.

"Look, do whatever you want to me - I don't care about that, but don't even think about hurting him. I'll kill you," Kasamatsu rumbled darkly - he wasn't quite strong enough yet to shout, but he'd been told that his growl was just as bad as his bark. "Let him go."

The brown-haired guy arched one eyebrow and smirked at him. "I won't hurt you yet, but I won't let him go, either. I just came back here to see if the two of you were hungry or thirsty."

Kasamatsu looked down at Kise, who was trembling underneath him - he didn't know if it was from fear or fever - and then back up at the other young man. "Both," he said decisively, and the teen nodded before turning and heading off the back of the truck. Kasamatsu thought about following him, but knew that it was probably more dangerous. Who knew how many of them there were?

Kise turned his head to look up at Kasamatsu, who had yet to move from his defensive position, and struggled to raise himself up on his uninjured arm. "Senpai, I don't think I can eat anything right now. I don't feel so good..."

"It'll be good to have it, anyway." Taking advantage of the brighter lighting, Kasamatsu took a moment to look over the burn on the blond's shoulder, and gritted his teeth. It was deeper than he thought, red, shiny, white and irritated. He peeled the t-shirt back to examine further and attempted not to wince when Kise cried out in pain.

"I'm so sorry, Kise," he whispered, letting go of the fabric and pushing the hair away from the model's sweat-soaked forehead. "Everything's going to be okay. I'll keep you safe. You trust me, don't you?"

Kise simply nodded, his face pale and green-tinted. His eyes were glistening with tears, though none had yet to roll down his cheeks. His lips were sticky and dry, and Kasamatsu was glad that he hadn't refused the offer of water.

It took a few minutes, but soon the guy was back, this time with a plastic wrapped four-pack of water bottles and a couple of cans of soup. He headed over and sat the items down beside them. He let out a low whistle when he saw the burn on Kise's shoulder and tipped his head to the side. "That's a pretty bad one, huh? Bad timing - standing beside that oven when it blew. Wonder what that'll do to your modeling career?" he asked sarcastically, and Kise flinched. Kasamatsu wondered if he'd even considered that. He certainly hadn't - he'd been incredibly focused on trying to think of ways to help ease the second-year's pain and simultaneously attempting to figure out how to survive the situation.

"I wonder," Kise replied quietly, looking away from the brunet and closing his eyes.

The young man's smile turned into a devilish grin. "Not that it'll matter anyway. You won't be getting out of this alive, I hope you know. And you deserve it, Ryota. Keep that in mind."

With that, he turned and headed back out of the truck, shutting the doors behind him.

Darkness engulfed them once more, and Kasamatsu found that his eyes were struggling to adjust. Instead of pressing Kise as to if he knew that guy - like he wanted, - Kasamatsu felt around for the water bottles. He broke open the packaging and found that the plastic bottle caps had yet to be opened. That meant that they most likely weren't drugged, although Kasamatsu took a sip first before helping Kise sit up and putting the bottle to his mouth.

Kise took a few sips before pushing the bottle away and shaking his head. "I don't feel good, senpai," he whined, pawing at Kasamatsu's hand to keep it from bringing the water back to his lips.

"You're sure you don't want any more?" Kasamatsu asked, although he wasn't going to push him. When Kise nodded, he instead started to put some of the liquid on his burn. At first, it looked like Kise was going to protest, but he ended up shuddering in relief and taking a shaky breath. Kasamatsu couldn't help but smile. "Feel better?"

"Mhm," Kise responded, his eyes still closed, and after a moment or two, Kasamatsu stopped. It was important not to waste water, and while Kise's comfort was a high priority, both of their hydration was more important.

Kasamatsu sipped on the water afterward, and then closed it and sat it to the side. They hadn't used much of it - about a fifth, if that, and Kasamatsu resolved to make Kise drink more later. He was feverish, and while he had drank more than Kasamatsu, it hadn't been enough.

"Want to go to sleep now?" Kasamatsu implored, and Kise nodded again. He gingerly shifted so that Kise was laying on his unhurt side, and then the raven-haired young man moved to lay in front of him. Not touching, but close enough so that Kise could reach for him and wake him up if he needed to.

* * *

Kasamatsu hadn't planned on sleeping, but apparently his body had demanded it, because he woke up from a peaceful dream where he'd been playing basketball with his two little brothers at the park, and was hurtled back into the nightmare that was reality. Still, he was pretty warm, and when he opened his eyes, the source of heat became apparent.

Kise had shifted over in his sleep and was gripping the front of Kasamatsu's shirt with both hands, and Kasamatsu's right arm had somehow moved to where it was supporting Kise's head. The blond was shifting uncomfortably in his sleep, whimpers escaping from between his parted lips from time to time. Kasamatsu reached over to rub his back, making sure he avoided the burn, and held the second-year's trembling body closer. He didn't want to wake him up, but he probably needed more water anyway.

Kasamatsu shook him gingerly awake and repeated their earlier process, though this time Kise was violently refusing to take any more than one sip, and when Kasamatsu saw how green his face was, he decided to respect his wishes. He wasn't sure if Kise was just carsick, or if the burn had an effect on him, or what, but it definitely looked like he was about to throw up.

So, instead of making him drink more, Kasamatsu just put the water on his burn and forehead to ease his fever. He wasn't burning up like he'd been earlier, but he was still too warm. Kasamatsu took it as a sign that his doctoring skills were working.

"Kise," Kasamatsu started gently, leaning back on the metal wall of the truck and letting Kise lay against him. "Did you know that guy that brought us food and water?"

"Mm..." Kise breathed, his golden eyes closed. "Maybe. From basketball. Middle school, not highschool," he managed, and turned his head so that he could look up at Kasamatsu. "Do you think he's gonna kill us?"

Kasamatsu arched one eyebrow dubiously and gave the blond a confident smirk. "He could _try_ , but it wouldn't end well for him," he informed the blond, and his heart warmed up a bit when Kise smiled back at him. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah." The younger boy sat up slightly and cringed from the pain in his burned arm. "Well, my stomach is anyway. I-"

The doors at the back of the truck opened once again, and this time several young men - about the age of the first one - hopped into the back with them. They approached Kise and Kasamatsu quickly, and two grabbed the blond, while the other two attempted to grab Kasamatsu.

The raven-haired man was on his feet in an instant, ignoring his pounding head, and clenched his fists before aiming a hard punch to one of Kise's assailants, hitting him directly in the face. "What do you think you're doing?" Kasamatsu demanded harshly, rage broiling in his chest. "Let him go."

The click of a pistol was enough to make Kasamatsu hesitate. One of the men behind him held the small gun up and aimed it at the back of Kasamatsu's head. "You two will be coming with us. Don't argue, or I will shoot."

Kasamatsu almost argued - and honestly, he would've, had Kise not been there - but the blond let out a terrified whimper, and he suddenly couldn't force himself. His life was important right now, if only for the fact that his former teammate needed him desperately to make sure he was kept safe. If he died now, who knew what would happen to Kise?

So, instead of protesting, he dropped his arms to his side and let the men grab him as well and put a blindfold over his eyes.

* * *

 **And... things still do not make much sense T.T I'm sorry for the wait, and for the possibly-terrible chapter.**

 **Anyhow, thank you for the reviews so far, and please continue to do so! c: Reviews make the world go 'round.**

 **God bless you all, and have a wonderful day.**

 **anim8or**


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